Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass South Stockyards (Thursday) Market Report

Stanford, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, April 22, 2021

984 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Blue Grass South Stockyards (Thursday) report →

light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $138.37/cwt +6.43 vs last sale · ≈ $857/hd at 619 lb · 176 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $145.96/cwt +0.16 vs last sale · ≈ $780/hd at 535 lb · 80 head
light 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $132.46/cwt +0.63 vs last sale · ≈ $1,099/hd at 829 lb · 69 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 984 2,161 1,823
Feeder cattle 864 2,104 1,709
Slaughter cattle 117 52 111
Replacement cattle 3 5 3

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Thursday feeder steers sold steady to 2.00 lower. Feeder heifers sold mostly steady. There was moderate demand for feeder classes. Slaughter cows and bulls sold mostly steady. There was moderate demand for slaughter classes.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
215 215 1 180.00 $180.00 $387 —
280 280 1 159.00 $159.00 $445 —
338–345 339 5 155.00–160.00 $156.02 $529 -27.68
345 fancy 345 4 176.00 $176.00 $607 —
367 fancy 367 2 181.00 $181.00 $664 —
350–385 368 2 150.00–165.00 $157.86 $581 -22.84
405–437 417 11 161.00–170.00 $166.05 $692 -6.27
450–495 459 22 151.00–168.00 $162.86 $748 -5.40
497 value added 497 4 172.00 $172.00 $855 —
508 value added 508 3 163.00 $163.00 $828 -8.46
510–545 524 10 148.00–157.00 $152.79 $801 -5.09
550–587 564 33 144.00–159.00 $152.99 $863 -1.64
605–631 619 9 137.00–148.00 $143.35 $887 +4.27
670–687 681 8 137.00–140.00 $138.89 $946 +0.84
710–728 722 13 125.00–135.50 $132.60 $957 +3.69
765 765 1 123.00 $123.00 $941 -1.17
828 value added 828 61 133.95 $133.95 $1,109 +2.12
830–848 840 8 118.00–125.00 $121.12 $1,017 —
890 890 3 122.00 $122.00 $1,086 -1.48
900 900 1 105.00 $105.00 $945 -12.00
918 value added 918 57 126.70 $126.70 $1,163 +2.81
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
210 210 1 142.50 $142.50 $299 —
400–445 427 3 149.00–156.00 $151.77 $648 —
455 455 1 148.00 $148.00 $673 -2.00
515 515 1 144.00 $144.00 $742 +6.68
550–585 576 4 136.00 $136.00 $783 +11.00
690–695 693 2 124.00–125.00 $124.50 $863 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
220 220 1 154.00 $154.00 $339 —
290 290 1 158.00 $158.00 $458 —
307–345 322 6 152.00–160.00 $156.07 $503 +15.45
365 fancy 365 3 164.00 $164.00 $599 +2.14
350–392 377 9 146.00–159.00 $151.78 $572 +9.72
405 fancy 405 13 160.00 $160.00 $648 +4.21
400–442 419 26 141.00–156.00 $147.78 $619 +5.85
450–495 477 18 139.00–155.00 $145.78 $695 +4.11
505–543 519 23 134.00–147.00 $141.04 $732 +2.38
505–549 value added 541 57 147.50–150.00 $147.95 $800 —
560–581 571 10 122.00–136.00 $131.72 $752 -6.00
582 value added 582 13 142.00 $142.00 $826 -5.41
612 fancy 612 88 143.60 $143.60 $879 —
600–647 626 38 122.00–135.00 $129.04 $808 +6.07
627 value added 627 50 136.25 $136.25 $854 +3.32
666–685 679 22 122.00–135.00 $125.66 $853 +4.46
705–715 708 3 106.00–108.00 $107.33 $760 -16.02
789 value added 789 64 123.00 $123.00 $970 -1.48
837 837 2 117.00 $117.00 $979 +2.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310–315 313 2 135.00–140.00 $137.52 $430 +16.52
370–375 373 2 130.00–131.00 $130.50 $487 —
410 410 1 138.00 $138.00 $566 +18.00
465–485 475 2 137.00 $137.00 $651 —
525–545 535 2 122.00–126.00 $123.96 $663 +7.96
585 585 1 117.00 $117.00 $684 —
640 640 1 112.00 $112.00 $717 —
665–695 678 3 110.00–114.00 $112.01 $759 +2.01
720–727 724 4 101.00–102.00 $101.50 $735 —
790 790 1 97.00 $97.00 $766 —
800 800 1 86.00 $86.00 $688 —
890 890 1 111.00 $111.00 $988 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
372–380 376 4 165.00–172.00 $168.54 $634 +18.54
400–440 417 9 150.00–162.00 $158.92 $663 -5.30
455–483 468 10 151.00–165.00 $159.40 $746 +1.86
507–522 516 10 149.00–160.00 $153.81 $794 +2.33
560–595 571 13 136.00–149.00 $144.47 $825 -1.62
610–641 633 7 136.00–140.00 $137.12 $868 +1.60
650–660 653 4 121.00–136.00 $124.79 $815 -6.75
712–720 715 3 111.00–120.00 $116.98 $836 -6.46
760–775 768 2 119.00–120.00 $119.50 $918 +8.50
845 845 1 110.00 $110.00 $930 -1.50
855 855 1 108.00 $108.00 $923 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310 310 1 131.00 $131.00 $406 —
435–445 440 2 145.00–148.00 $146.48 $645 —
488–490 489 4 143.00–144.00 $143.25 $700 +8.25
535 535 1 134.00 $134.00 $717 +14.00
555 555 2 134.00–136.00 $135.00 $749 —
640 640 1 123.00 $123.00 $787 +2.00
665 665 1 116.00 $116.00 $771 —
720–735 728 2 103.00–108.00 $105.47 $768 —
755 755 1 104.00 $104.00 $785 —
950 950 2 80.00 $80.00 $760 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1050–1205 1117 80-85% 5 49.00–55.00 $52.80 $590 —
1025–1465 1281 80-85% 44 56.00–64.00 $60.19 $771 -7.58
1100–1430 1284 80-85% 6 65.00–67.00 $65.63 $843 -2.14
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
880–995 936 85-90% 7 41.00–51.00 $45.93 $430 —
910–1010 969 85-90% 7 55.00–61.00 $58.15 $563 —
980 980 85-90% 1 65.00 $65.00 $637 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1510–1555 1525 75-80% 3 64.00–65.00 $64.67 $986 —
1350–1645 1551 75-80% 7 59.00–63.00 $61.52 $954 —
1690 1690 75-80% 1 53.00 $53.00 $896 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1200–1795 1432 5 83.00–86.00 $85.15 $1,219 —
1365–1995 1749 4 99.00–105.00 $101.48 $1,775 —
1310–2330 1788 6 88.00–95.00 $92.99 $1,663 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1470 1470 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 850.00 $850.00

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
460–465 463 2 105.00 $105.00 $486 —
605 605 1 90.00 $90.00 $544 —

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Reading this report

What does "Medium and Large 1" mean?

USDA feeder grades describe frame size and muscle thickness, not quality of the individual animal. "Medium and Large" is the frame score; the number is muscle (1 = heaviest muscled). "Medium and Large 1–2" pens mix both muscle scores — common across the Southeast.

What is $/cwt?

Dollars per hundredweight — per 100 lb of animal. A 500-lb calf at $450/cwt brings 5 × $450 = $2,250. Lighter cattle usually bring more per cwt but less per head.

Why are some prices per head?

Bred cows, cow-calf pairs, and some replacement classes sell by the head, not by weight. We show those exactly as USDA reports them — a $/head figure is never converted into $/cwt on this site.

Where do these numbers come from?

From the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service's Livestock Market News — federal reporters at the sale. We publish each report in full and link the official USDA document at the top of the page.